The invention concerns exercising devices in general and, more particularly, devices for exercising and practicing skiing/snowboard turns in a manner that simulates actual body and leg movement for a ski turn.
Devices for exercising and for practicing turning movements employed while skiing are known. For example, United States patents to Mautin U.S. Pat. No. 2,274,081, Denham U.S. Pat. No. 2,657,055, Roel-Rodriquez U.S. Pat. No. 4,907,796, Tomba et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,645,202, Knudson U.S. Pat. No. 4,607,839, Coral U.S. Pat. No. 4,101,136, Miehlich U.S. Pat. No. 4,595,195, Babock U.S. Pat. No. 4,544,153, Eckstein U.S. Pat. No. 4,429,869, Jenkins U.S. Pat. No. 4,369,189, Scriver U.S. Pat. No. 2,445,274, Smirmaul U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,744,558 and 4,744,557, Palmer U.S. Pat. No. 3,021,137, Arsenian U.S. Pat. No. 3,575,412 and Canadian patent No. 532,029, French patent No. 832,295, Swiss patent No. 444,733 and Austrian patent No. 204,939 disclose devices which are, however, expensive to manufacture inasmuch they require elaborate structures for the simulation of skiing conditions. Moreover, these devices are heavy and not easily movable or transportable. At least one of such known devices requires ski boots, thus requiring extra time and cost on the part of the user. None of these devices has two individual laterally positioned horizontal tilting means to change the ski's position relative to the fall line so as to enable one to commence skiing from a traverse position, a foldable edging indicating system necessary for comprehending the edging relationship between the movements with the device and those employed while skiing, or an individual front and rear moving vertical system for simulating bump--i.e. mogul--or sharp slope angle changes representing real skiing conditions. None of the prior art devices has a tension resistance to a combined spread apart and parallel lateral movement so as to be able to move freely between wedge and parallel position by sliding units on its connecting rear tensioned sliding tie bar which simultaneously sweeps out an arc across the back track, relatively parallel with the reduced lateral movement of the front tip assembly. None of the prior art devices incorporates a water skiing or snowboarding (dynamic or static) mode. None provides the combination of movements of a ski exerciser with interactive video capability on motorized versions. None has firmly held outward angled removable standing bars that form centrifugal simulating inclination supports that allow for a strong pulling effort in order to equal the pull and feel of centrifugal force present in normal snow skiing situations and especially for racing type turns. None of the prior art devices enables a sideways tip movement used to initiate modern turns that start with steering so as to move quicker from one turn to the next. None provides lateral movement in order, through fore to aft control rods, to provide a wide arc--i.e. a flattened center type arc movement--for reduced wheel scrub (wear) and wider track for longer, straighter rear of ski travel. None shows centered foot retaining guides along the tops of the ski type lengths for flex--i.e. reverse bending means and forward ski movement means--for selective rearward bending--i.e. a rearward moving apex--in order to more sharply contour (bend) that moving section of the ski's length in pressured contact with the ski slope, to adjust the radius of the turn to that of the desired trajectory of turn. This ski bend producing concentration of force may be applied by use of leverage action to the stiff vertical section of a heal binding with a Velcro attachment to a user's ankles and to the midpoint area (between knee and ankle) of the users leg.